Professor Marci A. Hamilton, M.A., J.D. (UPenn) holds the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She is one of the United States’ leading church/state experts and specializes on the issue of whether religious practices that violate the law should be accommodated. She holds two master’s degrees, one in philosophy (1982) and one in English (1984), from Penn State and a law degree (1988) from UPenn. A former law clerk for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor at the US Supreme Court, she is the author of “God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law” (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005), “Fundamentalism, Politics, and the Law” (Palgrave, 2011), and “Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children” (Cambridge Univ. Press, rev. 2012)”. She is a columnist of The Huffington Post on church/state issues and regularly appears on national TV, including The Today Show, Anderson Cooper, and Good Morning America.

Professor Hamilton beschreibt den Inhalt Ihres englischsprachigen Vortrages wie folgt: "I will talk about how the United States Constitution, particularly the First Amendment, has achieved "ordered liberty" and has become critically important in holding religious lawbreakers in check. I will also discuss the Supreme Court's recent and important decision on the right of religious organizations to choose ministers and to avoid the anti-discrimination laws, and what that means if anything in the clergy sex abuse cases. Finally, I will discuss the movement by religious groups to obtain "autonomy" from the law, which the Supreme Court has refused to embrace."